Better Business Bureau and FOX News report that car repair fraud is on the rise. Now, federal authorities and the FBI are taking notice and victims are fighting back. The losses are in the millions and recovering the stolen or embezzled vehicles and the money is daunting. Most of the time consumers are victims who never recover and are only left with painful memories.

Multiple lawsuits for fraud have been filed against a car restoration shop located in Pierce County, in the city of Gig Harbor, Washington. The restoration business that also sells camping gear is called Defenders Northwest, LLC. It is operated by a husband-and-wife team, Michele and Brian Hall. The lawsuits against the couple and their companies allege that the restoration shop’s proprietors orchestrated a multi-year fraud scheme to defraud their customers causing millions of dollars in damages.